Top 5 Uruguay Players To Watch in the World Cup

The Uruguayan national team is poised to make a run deep into the World Cup once again. This team is a bit longer on the tooth, but there are some individuals that are in the peak of their careers that will be vital for any type of pretensions they may have going into the World Cup.

There are certain givens such as Diego Forlán being 35 years old. And that he might not be the person that will be able to lead the squad in Brazil like he did in South Africa. For many, what he is able to do is a major contribution to anything that Uruguay will pretend to do in the World Cup.

These are five players that will have to make it big in Brazil for the ghosts of 1950 to begin haunting yet once again.

1. Gastón Ramírez

The Southampton playmaker is going to be looked at as a player that will have to make this tournament his. His ultimate flop in the Olympic Games in London saw his profile with La Celeste take a major hit. This is why he needs to use this tournament to turn things around and establish himself as the number ten that the Uruguayan press always thought they had when he was emerging over at Peñarol. There has been a great deal of talk about how he and Nicolás Lodeiro is in the fight to be the team’s playmaker.

2. Nicolás Lodeiro

If things do not work out with Gastón, the newly signed Corinthians man will be the man that will looked upon a great deal to create in front of Cavani and Suárez. It seems like a lifetime ago when Lodeiro was being touted as a highly ballyhooed Nacional youth product that got his debut in the World Cup playoff against Costa Rica in San José in 2009.

At this point, Lodeiro bounced around with clubs as well as agents and is looking to make this tournament a major turning points for him after suffering in South Africa when he was sent off in the opening match against France.

3. Cristian Stuani

When things weren’t going well, the addition of Cristian Stuani was a tremendous addition for Oscar Washington Tabárez helped get Uruguay in position where the squad were able to get to the playoff against Jordan. Stuani gave another feature to a Uruguay attack that struggled at times, despite playing out of position.

Playing out wide compared to up top where he is accustomed to prior to being switched by Javier Aguirre at Espanyol. That move for him was a blessing in disguise as that allowed Tabárez to look at him as a vital option of attack on the wings.

4. Diego Godín

Although Diego Lugano is the undisputed captain of the national team, the former West Brom man is a liability in the Uruguayan backline. The Atlético Madrid man is the lone bright spot to this backline that has Lugano in questionable form, Sebastián Coates coming back from a long injury and José María Giménez being a viable option despite still being 19 years old.

5. Luis Suárez

It is hard to put a list of players to watch for and not have one of the top three players in the world right now. Suárez also has a soap opera of his own as he looks to be ready for the clash against England.